Tag: election

“Democracy is a sham. Those people don’t speak for me. The system is rigged.”

You say vote. Someone says:

“Well, it doesn’t make a difference. This state is red. Another state is blue. This thing is already a lock.”

You say vote. Someone says:

“Hey, I’m making a statement by not voting.”

And, you say:

Well, I can’t hear it. This is not about the White House. This is about your house. If you’re not registered to vote, you can’t sit on that jury. You can’t choose your mayor. You can’t choose your city council. You can’t even choose your district attorney. You can’t decide which measures will help your family and community and which will put them at risk.

This government was designed to be changed.

You can either make that change or you can take what little they give you. Democracy is not a sham. It’s a job. Our job. And it took too goddamn long to get it to just let it slide.

I’ve got no love for Sarah Palin. I think she’s awful on many levels. But I’ve about had it with stories about how much her clothes cost. The most recent revelation appears to be that the RNC spent $165,000 on three stylists to give the Alaska governor a wardrobe makeover.

So what? Yes, it sounds like a lot of money, but that is apparently what top-notch stylists cost. (Nice work if you can get it.) The Times article explains that the aggregate amount is not out of line with what a movie studio might spend on stylists for an A-list actress.

The job of Vice President is at least as important as actress. It’s also a job where appearances count — at least in a campaign. And, like it or not, women face a double standard on their looks.

Have you ever seen pictures of Palin from her pre-veep days? She would never have survived the scrutiny of a national campaign with the clothes in her closet.

In the waning days of the campaign, as I struggled to overcome my deep pessimism that this could actually happen, that Americans would actually elect a black man president, I began to let go of my anger for the noxious and dishonorable that campaign he ran against our now president-elect Barack Obama.

I have never worshiped at the Cult of John McCain, never believed him to be the truth-telling, straight-talking, national war hero. I felt that he showed himself during the campaign to be the craven, corrupt politicians that he truly is. McCain’s campaign, at times, seemed to be inviting people to kill that traitorous and treasonous character they were running against, a fictional character named Barack Hussein Obama. As the campaign wore on, I felt McCain deserved to have his name go down in infamy with Joe McCarthy and others who have besmirched our history.

I began to cope with my paralyzing anxiety about the outcome of the election by letting go of my anger at McCain.

I liked that he promptly came out and gave his concession speech, that it was somewhat gracious. Nevertheless, something about the speech stuck in my craw. I am talking about this passage:

This is an historic election, and I recognise the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I’ve always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.

But we both recognise that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation’s reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.

America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.

Let there be no reason now … Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

I was overwhelmed and overjoyed at Sen. Obama’s victory and I did not complain about what everyone was insisting was a gracious concession speech. I stumbled upon a discussion thread on Facebook that led me to believe I was not the only one to think that there’s something not quite right with McCain’s words here.

The person who started the discussion titled it: race in the Obama win, then wrote:

It was interesting to me how McCain’s concession speech, gracious though it was, seemed to dwell on the “achievement” of an African-American, while Colin Powell’s remarks noted that Obama’s win went “far beyond race”. I guess the fact of Obama’s rainbow ethnicity is not easily grasped here.

A commenter wrote:

McCain (and Gerry Ferraro) truly believe the ONLY reason Obama won – was because of his ethnicity. They cannot and will not see him as who/what he actually is – beyond the color of his skin. That is their prism for all people of color. That is their limitation. We are leaving them behind…sadly.”

But it was another commenter who captured my (irrational?) bitterness at McCain’s choice of words:

Of course, as we all know, being black has always been a tremendous advantage in this country. Just ask Dred Scott, Rosa Parks, Emmett Till, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Homer Plessy…

President-elect Obama’s victory in the presidential election has been hailed in every corner of this nation by people of all races and celebrated all over the world, every corner of the world. This victory simply goes beyond race, although race is a significant component. It is an achievement for America to be proud of, not just African Americans. This historic event restores, for the moment at least, America’s role as a beacon of hope for the world.

McCain, of course, was not the only guilty part in this fixation on race, the entire media and our political class was guilty. Obama has willfully refused to pander to race or note the racial import of his quest, at times frustrating the media. I remember media types noting with frustration that he did not mention his race (he did not actually mention himself, crediting voters, instead) when he claimed the nomination from Sen. Hillary Clintoon in June.

I could not wait to get my New York Times but found its front page of this historic event deeply underwhelming. If any newspaper was capable of capturing such an important and historic while noting the significant racial component, it would be my beloved Times. But on this occasion, it failed:

Something about that front page did not move me. Here are some other front pages:

Barack Obama decisively won all three presidential debates because of his many thoughtful programs for middle-class Americans, his stance on the ending the Iraq War and bringing U.S. combat troops home… and because of his agreeable, chameleon-like ability to represent many good things for a great many people.

But John McCain also lost the debates due to many factors entirely independent of Barack Obama. And because of these factors, Sen. McCain is quite likely to lose the presidential election in 19 days.

I went to the 92nd Street Y two Saturday evenings ago to see Tavis Smiley interview Cornel West. I don’t care for Smiley, but I went because I was entertaining a friend’s guest from London (a sister) who wanted to go — real bad.

About halfway through the evening, I noticed she was leaning far way from me, and almost sitting in a seat two spots from me. I was heckling, Tavis. She was pretending not to know me.

You know all Tavis did the entire night was bash Obama and talk about how horrible the man is for the country, and how everyone voting for him was basically a “negro.” The audience was smart though . . . they didn’t eat up his rhetoric.

But I couldn’t help myself, so don’t ever take me to anything involving, Tavis . . . I don’t know how to act.

During question and answer a few people politely called him out with thoughtful questions. And Cornel West finally said what Amiri Baraka has been saying all along to these pseudo-revolutionaries: McCain is the enemy. For example, how about this, Tavis!

The Bush administration this month is quietly cutting off birth control supplies to some of the world’s poorest women in Africa.

Thus the paradox of a “pro-life” administration adopting a policy whose result will be tens of thousands of additional abortions each year — along with more women dying in childbirth.

The saga also spotlights a clear difference between Barack Obama and John McCain. Senator Obama supports U.N.-led efforts to promote family planning; Senator McCain stands with President Bush in opposing certain crucial efforts to help women reduce unwanted pregnancies in Africa and Asia.

This election is serious, Tavis. Either you’re part of the solution or you’re part of the problem.

Washington Post: POW Aftereffects in McCain Unlikely
Sen. John McCain’s 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam undoubtedly changed the course of his life. But now that he is 71, that remote trauma seems unlikely to shorten his life span or to lead to mental or physical conditions that are not already apparent.

LA Times: Obama makes moves for fall electionThe Democratic front-runner looks for a running mate, talks with party officials and campaigns where it counts — all while trying not to overstep while Clinton is still in the race.

The Hill: GOP says troop cuts likely to help McCain
GOP Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid could receive a boost if additional troops are withdrawn from Iraq this fall, according to his Republican colleagues. The Arizona senator’s allies said Gen. David Petraeus’s remarks Thursday that he expects to recommend more troop withdrawals this fall would validate McCain’s arguments that last year’s troop surge was needed to stabilize Iraq.

NY Times: As Race Wanes, Talk of Clinton as No. 2 Grows
While Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her advisers insist that she is determined to win the Democratic nomination, friends of the couple say that former President Bill Clinton, for one, has begun privately contemplating a different outcome for her: As Senator Barack Obama’s running mate.

Candidates seek centrist answers in IraqAP – 2 hours, 1 minute agoWASHINGTON – Hard-core advocates for and against the Iraq war are losing leverage as John McCain and Barack Obama, having virtually secured their nominations, appeal to centrist voters who will decide the fall presidential election.

Drug industry contributing more to DemocratsAP – 2 hours, 20 minutes agoWASHINGTON – In a sharp reversal, drug and medical device companies are giving more money to Democrats than Republicans this election season, one more sign of the campaign difficulties the GOP could face this November.

Obama’s outreach to US foes is questionableAP – 2 hours, 5 minutes agoWASHINGTON – Barack Obama’s willingness to meet Iranian, Cuban and other hostile leaders who would not get face time from John McCain stands as a distinctive element of his foreign policy.

Viral e-mails attack Obama’s life storyPolitico – Wed May 21, 8:12 PM ETThe main obstacle standing between Barack Obama and the White House was distilled into five words by a local television correspondent in South Charleston, W.Va., earlier this month.

Bush signs anti-discrimination billAP – Wed May 21, 5:54 PM ETWASHINGTON – President Bush on Wednesday signed legislation to protect people from losing their jobs or health insurance when genetic testing reveals they are susceptible to costly diseases.

US to let Americans send cell phones to CubaAP – Wed May 21, 5:43 PM ETWASHINGTON – President Bush announced Wednesday that people living in the United States soon will be allowed to send cell phones to Cubans on the island nation — a move that he hopes will push the communist regime to increase freedom of expression for Cuban citizens.

Bush vetoes farm billAP – Wed May 21, 3:27 PM ETWASHINGTON – President Bush vetoed the $300 billion farm bill on Wednesday, calling it a tax increase on regular Americans at a time of high food prices in the face of a near-certain override by Congress.

Bush heading to Europe in JuneAP – Tue May 20, 4:55 PM ETWASHINGTON – President Bush, traveling abroad more this year than at any time of his presidency, plans to head to Europe in June to confer with allies on matters of war, terrorism and trade.

White House denies story about attacking IranAP – Tue May 20, 4:00 PM ETWASHINGTON – The White House on Tuesday denied a published report in Israel that said President Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term in January.

Thinking the unthinkable: Who follows Ted Kennedy?AP – 6 minutes agoWASHINGTON – People in Massachusetts suddenly are thinking the unthinkable: Who possibly could succeed Sen. Edward Kennedy, patriarch of the famed political family that has dominated the state for more than four decades?

Kennedy illness robs Senate of dealmakerAP – 57 minutes agoWASHINGTON – Sen. Edward Kennedy’s diagnosis of a malignant brain tumor has left Congress without its best dealmaker and boldest liberal, a politician known for his staunch positions and willingness to work with right-wing lawmakers.

After gaffe, Democrats planning to redo farm billAP – 1 hour, 1 minute agoWASHINGTON – Democrats are picking up the pieces after an embarrassing technical gaffe that delayed a triumphant rejection of President Bush’s veto of a massive farm bill.

Mix-up throws House veto override in doubtAP – 1 hour, 42 minutes agoWASHINGTON – The House overwhelmingly rejected President Bush’s veto Wednesday of a $290 billion farm bill, but what should have been a stinging defeat for the president became an embarrassment for Democrats.

Plan to trim cell phone cancellation fees draws criticismAP – Wed May 21, 6:11 PM ETWASHINGTON – A wireless industry proposal under consideration by the government that would make it easier for cell phone customers to break up with their service providers was met with withering criticism by consumer advocates on Wednesday.

Fed sees slower growth, higher unemployment in `08AP – Wed May 21, 2:11 PM ETWASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sharply lowered its projection for economic growth this year, citing blows from the housing and credit debacles along with zooming energy prices. It also expects higher unemployment and inflation.

Government ads to show consumers how hospitals rateAP – Wed May 21, 12:34 AM ETWASHINGTON – The federal government is spending nearly $1.9 million on newspaper ads around the country that disclose hospital satisfaction rates, part of a unique campaign to improve health care through the power of publicity.

Feds help ailing student loan programAP – Tue May 20, 7:48 PM ETWASHINGTON – The Bush administration is taking steps to ensure student lenders don’t walk away from the federal loan program, including offering to buy up student loans and make capital available to lenders.

Merrill restarts talks to move to WTC site: WSJReuters – Thu May 22, 2:14 AM ET(Reuters) – Merrill Lynch & Co has restarted talks to move its headquarters to a planned skyscraper at the World Trade Center site, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Group critices US military for child detentionsAP – Wed May 21, 4:39 PM ETGENEVA – A rights group criticized the U.S. military Wednesday for holding hundreds of youths in Iraq, saying American forces aren’t living up to international standards.

Sri Lanka loses bid for UN human rights panel seatAP – Wed May 21, 4:06 PM ETUNITED NATIONS – Sri Lanka, which has been strongly criticized for its human rights record, lost its bid Wednesday for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, but four other countries with poor records won spots — Pakistan, Bahrain, Gabon and Zambia.

Report: Conflicts using child soldiers declinesAP – Wed May 21, 7:32 AM ETUNITED NATIONS – The number of conflicts in which child soldiers were involved dropped sharply from 27 in 2004 to 17 at the end of last year, according to a report by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.

States vie for seats on disputed UN rights bodyReuters – Wed May 21, 1:21 AM ETUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Sri Lanka, Bahrain and Gabon are among states vying for 15 seats on the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday that rights watchdogs say are unfit to be on it.

Ban upheld on offering child pornThe Christian Science Monitor – Tue May 20, 4:00 AM ETWashington – The US Supreme Court has upheld an effort by Congress to make it illegal to offer or promote child pornography – even when the photographs being offered or promoted don’t really exist or involve real children.

Court rejects case involving alleged Nazi guardAP – Mon May 19, 7:42 PM ETWASHINGTON – The Justice Department said Monday that an alleged former Nazi death camp guard has exhausted all legal avenues for trying to remain in the United States and the government remains committed to deporting him.

Court upholds part of child pornography lawAP – Mon May 19, 6:29 PM ETWASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled Monday that leading someone to believe you have child pornography to show or exchange is a federal crime, brushing aside concerns that the law could apply to mainstream movies that depict adolescent sex, classic literature or even innocent e-mails that describe pictures of grandchildren.

Court upholds municipal bond tax exemptionAP – Mon May 19, 5:48 PM ETWASHINGTON – The $2.5 trillion municipal bond market skirted a land mine Monday when the Supreme Court ruled that states could continue to give special tax breaks on the bonds that fund hospitals, roads, schools and other services.

Justices rule against man in terrorism caseAP – Mon May 19, 1:11 PM ETWASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday ruled against an Algerian convicted of conspiring to detonate explosives at Los Angeles International Airport during the millenium holiday travel rush.

Viral e-mails attack Obama’s life storyPolitico – Wed May 21, 8:12 PM ETThe main obstacle standing between Barack Obama and the White House was distilled into five words by a local television correspondent in South Charleston, W.Va., earlier this month.

Mix-up throws House veto override in doubtAP – 1 hour, 42 minutes agoWASHINGTON – The House overwhelmingly rejected President Bush’s veto Wednesday of a $290 billion farm bill, but what should have been a stinging defeat for the president became an embarrassment for Democrats.

Clinton launches new Fla., Mich. offensivesPolitico – Wed May 21, 2:33 PM ETBOCA RATON, Fla. – With a bit of momentum from her landslide Kentucky victory and less lopsided Oregon loss, Hillary Clinton is turning her attention to two states that have already voted, Florida and Michigan, over two states and a territory that have yet to, South Dakota, Montana and Puerto Rico.

DeGeneres needles McCain on gay marriageAP – Wed May 21, 11:25 PM ETWASHINGTON – Republican John McCain says same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into legal agreements for insurance and other purposes, but he opposes gay marriage and believes in “the unique status of marriage between and man and a woman.”

Senate proposal seeks $165B for warAP – 2 hours, 42 minutes agoWASHINGTON – President Bush’s GOP allies in the Senate face election-season votes Thursday on both his long-pending war funding request and tens of billions of dollars backed by Democrats for veterans education and an assortment of domestic programs.

The Times basically celebrated flash over substance in choosing to focus on John King of CNN and his giant computer board that has dominated the cable news network’s coverage of the elections this year. The fact is that CNN is not using the teleprompter to deepen its coverage of the elections.

Measuring nearly seven and a half feet diagonally, the screen, along with its database, seems more suited to a commander moving troops around a battlefield, which is no accident. David Bohrman, who oversees CNN’s political coverage, fell in love with the monitor after seeing it at a military intelligence trade show last year. (Mr. Bohrman refused to say how much CNN had paid for the device, which is made by a company called Perceptive Pixel.)

Asked about his new toy on a recent morning at CNN’s New York City headquarters as his fingers darted from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to Erie in a dry run of the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday night, Mr. King said the technology enabled him to turn back the clock as much as move it forward. For more than a decade before joining CNN in 1997, Mr. King was a reporter for The Associated Press, and election nights usually found him systematically telephoning precincts to collect their tallies.

“I’m in TV 10 years, but in my head and heart, I’m still an old wire guy, a grunt,” Mr. King said. “You can use this new technology to look at politics the old-fashioned way, which is: who’s finding their people and turning them out?”

And yet Mr. King said that his touch screen allows him to present data in ways far more dazzling and compelling than in his days tapping out election results in A.P. bureaus in Providence, R.I., and later Washington, or even in his early years at CNN. The technology has also helped him solve a problem with which he has occasionally wrestled in his career at CNN: adapting his just-the-facts-ma’am approach to a visual medium.

This is ridiculous. CNN does not have more reporters out in the field to deepen its coverage of the elections. Its staff is not out talking to people in Erie, PA, for instance. Most of the staff, as a matter of fact, are sitting behind desks in the studio, either as analysts, or as producers. The CNN coverage is a lot of lips flapping, adding up to a vapid picture of what is taking place.

No matter how fast Mr. King talks into the camera, or snaps his finger across a screen to enlarge a map, what this new highfalutin machine masks too often in primary after primary and caucus after caucus is the lack of real news to report by CNN, especially in the early hours after the polls close.

Then the Times allowed King to say this without challenge:

“Nothing against white guys, but I’m a white guy talking in a box,” he said, stripping his broadcast performance to its essence. “If all I’m doing is saying, ‘6 percent, 8 percent, 10 percent, 12 percent,’ there’s that glaze-over factor at home. You’ve lost them.”

“The wonder of this,” he said a moment later, gesturing toward what is essentially a giant Etch-a-Sketch, “is that you can show it. You can make the math accessible.”

Since when has being a “white guy” disadvantaged anyone in any way from working in broadcast journalism? This was a ridiculous, stupid, vacuous statement that was just dropped in there and the Times just let it go without challenging its validity.

The Times compounded this ridiculousness by bringing in some story about Mr. King’s wedding to a CNN colleague. Why did the Times spend such valuable news space enhancing Mr. King’s celebrity?